Helen Willoughby, BACP, NCPS

Helen Willoughby is a counsellor registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (NCPS). She has worked in therapy since 2003 and earlier trained and practised as a nurse. Her work covers anxiety, stress, addictions, trauma and abuse, relationship and family concerns, grief, low self-esteem and codependency among other issues.

Helen runs a private practice in the United Kingdom and offers one-to-one sessions that focus on the person in front of her. She uses approaches such as Client-Centred Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Jungian ideas alongside mindfulness and motivational interviewing. In conversation she will answer questions, explain options and treat you as an individual.

Sessions are practical and conversational. People who struggle with people-pleasing, trouble saying no, or feeling lost in a relationship can expect to talk about small, manageable steps. Helen also works with those coping with bereavement, parenting strain, chronic illness and the impacts of abuse.

Her nursing background shapes how she listens to physical and emotional interactions. Discussions may include how stress shows in the body, sleep patterns, and routines that make daily life harder or easier. Helen can use CBT techniques for unhelpful thinking and behavioural changes when that fits the concern.

She aims for clear, steady conversations rather than clinical jargon. Therapy can bring up hard feelings and she acknowledges that it can be challenging. If someone wants to begin, Helen guides the first practical steps and answers initial questions about working together.

How Helen’s approaches translate to online work